The Chocolate Doctor at HB Ingredients Gives His Diagnosis

1 HB Ingredients . Cocoa House, The Cliffe Industrial Estate, South Street, Lewes, East Sussex. BN8 6JL. Tel:+44(0)1273 409 300 Fax:+44(0)1273 472 146 The Chocolate Doctor at HB Ingredients Gives His Diagnosis 08/018 Symptom Shelf Life of Chocolate 1) Does the tempering process for Chocolate affects its shelf life? 2) If Chocolate is mixed with other Ingredients (eg nuts) is its shelf life affected? 3) If nuts or fruit is surrounded by Chocolate , does it exclude air and therefore increase freshness of those Ingredients ? Diagnosis All Chocolate is in a tempered state when sold, whether it is in an easimelt button format, in blocks, tablets etc etc. Generally most Refiners give the following shelf life to different types this is in the form of a Best Before Date rather than an Eat by , Consume By or Sell By Date. Dark/Plain/Bitter 24 months Milk 18 months White 12 months Chocolate is a very stable product in that the moisture content is effectively zero, so deterioration of Chocolate occurs when the fat element oxidises.

2 In Dark Chocolate there is generally only Cocoa Butter, whereas in Milk & White Chocolate there is also Dairy Fat, which tends to oxidise more readily. This oxidisation process can result in off flavours in extreme circumstances, the best way to explain this is if you leave a block of butter or cheese unwrapped, you will notice that over time it darkens in colour this is the butterfat oxidising (ie air reacting with the fat). So to avoid/minimise this happening, it is critical that all fat based products are carefully wrapped when stored. So Chocolate packed in the original unopened packaging will not really deteriorate in any way being also very microbiologically stable. HB Ingredients . Cocoa House, The Cliffe Industrial Estate, South Street, Lewes, East Sussex. BN8 6JL. Tel:+44(0)1273 409 300 Fax:+44(0)1273 472 146 Well tempered Chocolate has a very even crystal size formation and the Best Before Dates that are set also take account of the fact that over time, the crystals will gradually change and become more uneven.

3 This will especially happen when temperature variations occur during the life of the Chocolate before use. Therefore once the manufacturers packaging is opened and the Chocolate re-tempered to again form a very stable mass, you can add your shelf life to suit the finished product, packaging and anticipated handling conditions. This counts from when you make the finished product and irrespective of the manufacturers shelf life. So for Fresh Cream fillings (as the fat & moisture content in the cream will be subject to microbiological degradation often seen when the Chocolate coating cracks open rather like an old yoghurt or cream pot blowing some days after the Consume By Date .) Alcohol based low moisture centres that are well packed 6 months Well packed & sold fat based centres (such as Tintoretto but not free nut fats- see below) 9 months Whole fruit & Nuts 9 months Praline centres c .6 months. This is due to the fact that fats that are liquid at ambient temperature can slowly migrate through Chocolate which will disturb the tempered Cocoa Butter crystals and the finished product will become dull and look untempered with nut oil appearing on the surface of the Chocolate .

4 Obviously good airtight (if possible) packaging and even temperatures until sale or consumption are imperative to the eat & end quality of the product. Coating Nuts & Fruits with Chocolate will seal them from air and therefore slow deterioration due to oxidisation (air activity) on the outside of the nuts. This is rather like when you open a packet of nuts they are crunchy and fresh, if you leave them open to the atmosphere in a bowl for a length of time they lose their freshness and become less crunchy and have less flavour this again is due to oxidisation. Well packed and sealed nuts & dried fruits will only retain their freshness, rather than improve it. This is the case for Chocolate and most other foods and is good old fashioned common sense, which developed over the years for very good reasons!